More than 10,000 workers at manufacturer John Deere go on strike
Workers protest outside the John Deere Harvester Works on October 14, 2021, in East Moline, Illinois.
Photo: Scott Olson / Getty Images
WASHINGTON – Some 10,000 workers in the United States of the manufacturer of agricultural and construction machinery John deere they started this Thursday one strike after the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reject the collective agreement proposed by the company.
The strike affects 14 production plants: seven in Iowa and four in Illinois, as well as plants in Kansas, Colorado and Georgia.
UAW Vice President Chuck Browning said in a statement that employees of the UAW John deere they have gone on strike “to earn a decent salary, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules.”
John Deere in negotiations with the UAW had offered salary increases of between 5 and 6% but the union considered the proposal insufficient. The company notes that its workers already have some of the best wages and benefits in the industry.
According John Deere, the average employee’s salary is about $ 60,000 a year. For its part, the UAW said the company is making record profits and its executives, including CEO John May, have received sharp increases in their wages.
May went from earning $ 5 million in 2019 to $ 16 million in 2020.
This year, the company expects to have record profits of between $ 5.7 billion and $ 5.9 billion. Union experts have indicated that in These times of labor shortages in the American economy, workers have more force to demand improvements in their collective agreements.
UAW President Ray Curry explained that workers in John deere “They have worked through the pandemic after the company deemed them essential to produce the equipment that powers America, builds America, and powers the American economy.”
UAW has indicated that workers in John deere have set up informational pickets at the plants and are ready to strike, the first in 35 years that affects the entire company, until their demands are accepted.
.
